HBN: Episodes 3 and 4

Remember the episode of The Simpsons where Homer eats the Guatemalan insanity peppers and receives spiritual guidance from a space coyote Johnny Cash? Did you know that a Jersey Shore beach condo can induce the same sort of mind-altering experience?

The parallels between Homer's spiritual jouney and Dave Barry's beach condo redesign are uncanny. Homer (Dave Barry) ingests the Guatemalan insanity peppers (yellow shag carpet tiles) and his whole world turns surreal (the Jersey Shore). He meets a beautiful butterfly (Cortney) and a talking turtle (Bob) who guide him along his way (the design process) and finally he wakes up in a golf course sand trap (the beach) and realizes his soulmate all along was Marge (that poster of Lyndon Johnson). See? When you piece together shockingly disparate and brightly colored elements in just the right way, it can actually make sense. Sort of like a ransom note. On to episode 4!

Aaah, Manhattan chic. This is what the Novogratzes are all about. But what in particular about the Murray Hill project can we apply to nursery design? Metallics. It's true, metallic elements aren't something we usually incorporate into nurseries. Silver and gold make us think of cold, evil things like James Bond villains and Home Depot bathroom fixtures.